CHICAGO, IL--(INTERNET WIRE)--Sep 13, 2002 -- Perhaps you've always had a Polaroid camera. Perhaps you've always wanted one. Now, for the first time, you can have a 3-in-1, 2 mega pixel digital camera bearing the Polaroid name. The PDC 2150 is flexible, easy to use, and produces the high quality still images that have always been a Polaroid trademark. It can also be used as a web camera and capture streaming video when tethered to a PC.

"The Polaroid brand is one of the most trusted in the world," said Patricia Schoenberg, president of Spectra Merchandising International, the exclusive marketing, sales and distribution channel in North America for Polaroid's digital cameras. "The PDC 2150 is the first in a series of innovative Polaroid cameras that will bring the latest digital technology to consumers at especially attractive prices.

Weighing less than seven ounces and compact enough to fit in your pocket or purse, the sleek, silver PDC 2150 is a camera for all occasions. Used as a "point and shoot" still camera, it takes and stores as many as 45 crisp images. You can check settings on the LCD display screen and frame your subjects using either the optical viewfinder or the full color LCD display. An auto flash sensor with multiple flash modes enables you to take memorable photos under any kind of lighting conditions.

Connected to your personal computer, the PDC 2150 converts sequential images into video clips for emailing to family and friends.

Thanks to its ArcSoft® Photo Suite software, the PDC 2150 permits you to edit and correct images, add special effects ranging from motion blur to fisheye perspectives, and to convert images to different formats. With a PDC 2150, your images are not just what you take, but what you make of them.

When combined with access to the Internet, the PDC 2150 serves as a web-cam, recording 24 frames per second. You can use it to create instant e-mails, edit a family newsletter, make your own electronic birthday cards and keep in touch with loved ones anywhere in the world.

"Good things aren't the only things that come in small packages," Schoenberg said. "So do great things -- and the PDC 2150 is a great camera for everyone in the family. Even the packaging is special. It provides a concise listing of the camera's capabilities, features and service numbers-- it's a thumbnail reference guide."

Among its features, the PDC 2150 provides 1600 x 1200 pixel resolution for high clarity images, a 2x digital zoom lens, built in flash, including a red-eye reduction mode, 8 MB of internal memory and TV out to slide show the images on a TV without a computer. Its built-in digital timepiece enables you to imprint the time and date on any photo, and its working range enables you to photograph anything from 20 centimeters to infinity.

"We're very excited about the PDC 2150," Schoenberg said. "Retailer demand has been so strong, we've accelerated our production with delivery by air freight so that the first shipments will be on the shelves by the middle of September."

The PDC 2150, manufactured under license from Polaroid Corporation by World Wide Licenses, Ltd., will be available at a suggested retail price of $299.

Spectra Merchandising International, Inc. develops and sells about 200 consumer electronic products under several proprietary and licensed brands to virtually every major USA retailer.

Sales also are diversified into private label, mail order and premium incentive distribution channels. Spectra is the exclusive North American marketing, sales and distribution partner for the entire Polaroid Digital Camera product line.

World Wide Licenses Ltd. is a Hong Kong-based wholly owned subsidiary of The Character Group. Founded in 1991, The Character Group Plc. is fully listed on the Main Board of the London Stock Exchange, Media and Photography Sector. World Wide Licenses designs and develops digital interactive products for global distribution.

Polaroid Corporation is the worldwide leader in instant imaging. The company supplies instant photographic cameras and films; digital imaging hardware, software and media; secure identification systems; and sunglasses to markets worldwide.

"Polaroid" is a registered trademark of Polaroid Corporation, Cambridge, MA. 02139